A week later, they met again, this time at Mr. Branson’s Necker Island in the Caribbean, and had another night of passion. The next day, Mr. Brockway sat in on another of Ms. Chong’s Lulu lectures, unaware of her plan to demonstrate her app by reviewing him in front of his friends and family members.

“People thought she was teasing,” Mr. Brockway said, flashing his #EpicSmile and rubbing his #ThreeDayStubble during a recent dinner party in SoHo attended by friends including Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, a founder of Gilt Groupe, and Princess Eugenie of York.

Mr. Brockway has since gotten several more reviews (#DudeCanCook), none quite as glowing as the [...]

Jay-Z has been performing "Picasso Baby," a track from Magna Carta Holy Grail, at Manhattan's Pace Gallery for the past four hours or so. He'll reportedly do it for six total, because of art. Marina Abramovich has been hanging out and dancing with him, and so have a lot of other famous people and not-famous people, and it seems like this will all eventually turn into a pretty music video some time soon. For now, though, this clip is really the only thing I'm interested in. Bold prediction: this woman will be the first and last human to pull off this move in world history.

A spite house is a house built for the express purpose of pissing someone else off. Personal comfort, adequate living space, and compliance with local zoning laws all come second to this all-important goal. Spite houses come in all shapes and sizes, but the best are absurdly small and very angry indeed. Here are a few of my favorites, ranked from least- to most-spiteful.

The Montlake Spite House, Seattle

The Story: You have options here. EITHER the house was a result of a divorce settlement in which the husband got the [large, non-spiteful house] and the wife got the front yard and decided to use it, dammit—OR, the [...]

I have waterskied before. It took me about 10 times to get up, but I did it. I think I was 12 or 13. I have waterskied maybe a dozen times. Once I figured it out, though, I discovered that, really, I’d rather just swim. I’m not a big fan of equipment. Snow skiing, for example, is fun but not so fun that I ever want to walk across a parking lot, in ski boots, carrying a pair of skis and poles, ever again.

Located just 50 miles north of New York City (15 minutes by helicopter) and featuring two houses designed by famed American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, Petra Island truly must be seen to be believed.

The island itself is 11 acres in size and is situated on New York's very private Lake Mahopac. Petra Island has its own helicopter landing pad, and is of course accessible from the mainland by boat.

Two dwellings sit on the island – a 1,200-square-foot cottage, and a 5,000-square-foot main residence which is nothing short of an architectural masterpiece.

Good morning. How is your government shutdown going? Over here we've got a lovely Google doodle commemorating the 123rd anniversary of the opening of Yosemite Park, where visitors are being asked to leave "immediately," Instagram pages are dropping off the face of the planet, the Smithsonian is closed, and perhaps most tragically of all, the Giant Panda cam is down. Both the Washington Post and the New York Times have helpfulrundowns of how the shutdown will affect specific government employees for now: NASA TV employees, for example, are furloughed, while International Space Station employees are still at work.

Dog trainer Anna Jane Grossman began providing private iPad lessons to dogs last year. About 25 of her clients have signed up, and she is planning a 90-minute iPad clinic for dogs later this month, where they will learn to nose the screen to activate apps.

"People always say, 'Oh, can you have my dog do my online banking?' " Ms. Grossman says. In reality, dogs don't "necessarily do very useful things on the iPad," she adds. "But I don't necessarily do very useful things on the iPad either."

Ms. Grossman is part of a nascent but growing group touting the use of apps for pets. They say the apps [...]